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AMERICAN LIVES Alfred E. Smith

The “Happy Warrior”

“I have taken an oath of office nineteen times. Each time I swore to defend and maintain the Constitution of the United States. . . . I have never known any conflict between my official duties and my religious beliefs.”—Alfred E. Smith, “Catholic and Patriot” (1927)

Alfred E. Smith (1873–1944) was born and
raised in New York’s Lower East Side. His
grandparents on one side had emigrated from
Germany and Italy and on the other side from
Ireland. He became identified with the rising
power of urban immigrant voters.
Smith’s father died when Alfred was twelve, and
two years later, he quit school and began working
full time. In the late 1890s, he entered local politics,
and by 1903 he had won a seat in the New
York state assembly. Dominating New York City
politics was the Tammany Hall machine, and Smith
was part of that Democratic party organization. He
avoided any hint of corruption, however, and
became known as an honest lawmaker. While working to achieve Tammany goals, he also pushed for various reforms.
In 1913, fire destroyed the Triangle garment
factory, killing 146 people—mostly working women
and girls. Smith led the outcry for greater workplace
safety. He chaired a commission that investigated
factory conditions throughout the state. The
investigation put him in touch with many social
reformers. These allies helped him in his 1918 race
for governor. Smith campaigned for government
reform and changes in female and child labor laws.
He won a narrow victory.
As governor, Smith steered an independent
course. He appointed Republicans and independents
to state office. He backed labor’s right to
organize but used the state militia to end a violent
strike. In the midst of widespread fear of radicals,
he boldly criticized the New York assembly for
expelling five members because they were socialists.
He lost the governorship in 1920, although he
won again in 1922, 1924, and 1926. In his later
terms, he achieved many reform goals. / Smith tried to win the Democratic nomination
for president in 1924. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
nominated him, calling him the “Happy Warrior.”
Smith was anything but happy as the convention
unfolded. The Ku Klux Klan—powerful in the
party that year—opposed him loudly because he
was a Roman Catholic. Finally Smith was forced to
withdraw his candidacy.
Four years later, though, Smith easily won the
nomination, but he entered the fall campaign with
three problems. He was identified as a “wet”—
someone against Prohibition—at a time when
Prohibition still had wide support. He was Catholic,
and no Catholic had ever run for president. And
the country had prospered under eight years of
Republican presidents.
Smith took the religious issue head-on. He
gave a major speech in Oklahoma City urging
tolerance of all religions. Some groups strongly
opposed to him used harsh language. One critic
linked Smith to a catalog of problems: “card playing,
cocktail drinking, poodle dogs, divorces, novels,
stuffy rooms, dancing, [and] evolution.” Some
Klan members said that to vote for Smith was to
“vote for the Pope.” Smith, however, pulled more
votes than any previous Democratic candidate.
He won two states and twelve large cities that had
been solidly Republican. However, Smith lost by
a wide margin.
Smith hoped to get a job working for Franklin
Roosevelt, the new governor of New York. FDR
did not name him to any post, however, and Smith
entered business. Gradually he withdrew from politics.
When he did enter political debates, he took
more and more conservative positions. He harshly
criticized Roosevelt in the early years of the New
Deal. Not until World War II erupted did the two
former allies become close again. Smith died in
1944.

Questions

1.  How did Smith show independence throughout his career?

2.  Why was Smith’s Catholicism a major issue?

3.  What problems besides opposition toward Catholicism helped defeat Smith?

4.  Place the events of this passage in chronological order

5.  Throughout the passage, Smith does all of the following EXCEPT:

a. Chaired a commission on factory safety

b. gave a speech in favor of religious tolerance

c. gets elected governor of New York

d. worked for Franklin Roosevelt

6.  Complete the following statement: The main idea of the second paragraph is:

Three pieces of evidence to support the above claim are?

1.______

2.______

3. ______